Subtle Changes
by baby-kitsune9
Summary: Tsuna- or should I say Tsunade had been hiding things from her tutor and friends. Things that sometimes should be left alone. However between Reborn, Gokudera and Takeshi- nothing is sacred. Fem Tsuna/Takeshi my first story for this anime so please R&R. new chap 11!
1. Chapter 1

It all started around the time of the Vongola ring fights when Reborn and the guardians noticed that there was something very wrong with Tsuna.

It had started out with the match that Lambo was supposed to take part in. And while Takeshi, Gokudera and Reborn didn't particularly like sending a defenseless five year old child to his possible death-

They had been more than a little _shocked_ and _stunned_ when Tsuna had taken the lightening guardian's ring and stepped forward and tossed it to the enemy and said in a tone that sent shivers down their spines. "We forfeit." And ignoring the gaping looks on their enemies faces, took Lambo from Takeshi and started to walk off.

Reborn and the two guardians exchanged an, _What the hell,_ look then turned to follow when they heard Xanxus growl. "Scum. Are you really that scared of us?" Causing his lackey's to snicker as if his comment was funny.

Gokudera turned and was about to snap at Xanxus to watch his damned mouth. No one made fun of the boss. _No one_. But as he started to open his mouth to say something Tsuna turned and his normally innocent and kind amber colored eyes locked on Xanxus, his expression cold and menacing for a moment before he let out a small laugh that was a few shades too dark to be real laughter.

"You're pathetic." Tsuna said as he turned back around and started down the steps with his crew just a few steps behind him.

"Boss? Boss? Are you feeling okay?" Gokudera asked as they hit the main hallway.

Tsuna didn't say anything at first. Which was surprising since he usually responded right away with a squeak and a lot of denial. But now- now their boss was strangely silent and none of them knew how to respond to his silence. It was uncomfortable for them not to know what Tsuna was thinking for once since the smaller, younger, feminine looking boy was usually as open as a book to them.

So seeing him so closed off all of a sudden was odd to say the least.

"I'm fine Gokudera-" Tsuna finally said, his tone was soft as he looked down at the sleeping five year old curled up in his arms. "I'm just pissed about this whole power struggle over who will lead the Vongola."

"Understandable, Dame-Tsuna. Especially when you have so much more to lose than Xanxus's group." Reborn said from his perch on Takeshi's shoulder. Tsuna turned his head and gave the baby hitman a strange look then sighed.

"I don't suppose I can send all of you and your families away. Send you to Italy perhaps?"

"It's a nice thought, Dame-Tsuna. But it won't work. Xanxus would only hunt us all down besides-"

"We won't leave the bosses side! It's our job to protect you!" Gokudera said.

"Gokudera is right Tsuna. We can't just up and leave you." Takeshi said in an unusually somber tone. His grey eyes boring into his young friend's back.

"As much as I hate to repeat myself Dame-Tsuna, they are right. As your guardians- it's their duty to stay by your side at all times and even lay down their lives for you if the situation calls for it."

"And who the hell asked the too-" Tsuna said as he suddenly stopped walking and turned around so that he was facing his friends and the baby hitman. His expression dark as he spat out. "Because _I_ certainly didn't."

Thrusting Lambo into Gokudera's arms, Tsuna growled out the oder to take the boy back to his home and to leave him in his mother's care then turned again so that his back was to them and walked over to the nearest window and opened it and quickly climbed out. Causing the small group to panic when they recalled that they were five stories high off of the ground.

(**********************************************************************************************************************************************************************)

Tsunade managed to use a tree limb just under the window to slow her freefall to the ground and swing herself up and over the little iron fence that surrounded the base of the tree to keep it from falling, and jumped down.

Her feet touching the ground lightly before she bothered to turn around and look up at the building where Takeshi was trying to pull Gokudera away from the window to keep him from following after her while he gave her a curious look. As if he was amazed by the fact that she was still in one piece.

She supposed that she could understand his reaction to her jumping out the window when a normal person would have broken their neck. But it was Reborn's look that really got to her. He was eyeing her with a peculiar look of curiosity in his eyes.

Apparently wondering if all the training he had been giving her was finally taking. Then he frowned and seemed to decide that what she had done was something worth berating her for.

Undoubtingly he'd be waiting for her to come home tonight just so that he could chew her out.

Unfortunately due to her temper, she probably wouldn't be home for the next few days. And though she knew it would worry everyone (especially her mom and Gokudera) she couldn't risk going home and lashing out. Not like the last time when her mother had gotten hurt.

No, she'd go somewhere where no one would think to look for her... She'd go to Hibari's. At least he wouldn't bother her when she was pissed like she was now. Turning away from her friends she ran across the school courtyard and out the gate.

She was a good ways from the school when she saw Hibari walking ahead of her and sped up, the sounds of her footfalls hitting the pavment drawing the wolf-like prefects attention. He turned to see who was behind him as just the right moment. She flung herself into his arms, startling him as she clutched at his jacket and buried her face against his shoulder so that he couldn't see her expression.

Not that he needed too. The teen had been going to school with her ever since they were kids and knew all too well what could happen when she was riled. He'd certainly seen the results often enough over the years.

He kept his arms at his sides for a moment then brought them up to wrap around her, his dark eyes searching the streets for any signs of trouble before he asked, "Are you okay?"

"No." She said in a shakey voice that was muffled against his shoulder. He grunted but didn't say anything else. To tell the truth there was nothing else to say. She had just told him that she wasn't okay, that's really all he needed to know.

Letting out a soft huff of annoyance, he gave her a small squeeze, trying to let her know through his actions that he would give her anything she needed. Whether it was a simple place to stay or a shoulder to cry on or someone to beck her up in a fight and said, "Guess I'm taking you home with me tonight, huh?"

She didn't say anything in response, nor did she release him from her grasp. Sighing the wolf-ish teen gave her another, tighter squeeze then dropped his arms back to his side as she let him go so that he could grab her hand and the two started walking again.


	2. Chapter 2

Namimori's shrine was a beautiful place to visit.

But to the prefect of Namimori middle school, it was a place that his family had called home for generations. And it wasn't because somone in each generation served as a priest/priestess or guardian- No that tradition had died out almost three hundred years ago.

But that didn't mean that the shrine was neglected by the people of Namimori. Or by the family that lived there.

Hibari walked up the last of the mountain side steps with Tsunade close behind him, his mind on the ring fights that were currently going on. He knew something must have happened tonight, something that had set off her temper and caused her to want to take refuge here at the shrine with him. Especially when he wasn't the most _social_ or _nicest_ of people to be around.

But then maybe being around someone like him right now was what she needed.

He wouldn't ask questions. He wouldn't try to corner her- besides the last time he'd tried that, he'd been ten and she had stomped his ass six ways from sunday. Which had turned out to be an experience that he didn't want to repeat anytime soon.

Even now that he was older and had learned several styles of martial arts, he knew deep down that she could still take him.

They reached the top of the stairs and he held a hand out, expecting her to hand over her backpack since she hadn't gone home before the fight had taken place. Which meant that she and those damned annoying friends of hers had simply loitered around somewhere until it had gotten dark.

She looked at his hand with a funny look on her face, as if wondering what he was holding his hand out for when he sighed and rolled his eyes and said, "Backpack."

Blinking in confusion, Hibari sighed and snagged the strap on her shoulder and carefully tugged it off. "Idiot, a host doesn't let his guest take their stuff to their room. It's rude."

"Don't you mean to say, 'A host doesn't let his guest carry their things to their room when he doesn't trust them as far as he can throw them.' Because then he can't go through their stuff behind they're back." Hibari glowered at her for a moment, trying to impress upon her that while she may be a fairly quick wit- her mouth could cause him to kick her down the stairs that they had just climbed.

All nine hundred and something of them.

However she looked away and didn't seem to be paying any attention to his glare. "Wow, this place hasn't changed a bit." She said in awe as she looked around like it was her first time there. Hibari blinked and made a humming sound and looked around too. Noting that nothing looked out of place.

Just like he liked his home. Neat. And orderly.

"Yeah, I've been keeping up with the repairs and such... Well, do you want to go roll around in the dirt somewhere until dinner is ready?"

Tsunade made a growling sound and snapped, "Hey! I've long grown out of the need to roll around in the dirt!"

Hibari made a snorting sound and rolled his eyes as he slung her backpack over one of his shoulders, his lips twitching in amusement as he turned and said, "Whatever you say princess. Just go do something and stay out of the kitchen. I refuse to let you stay if I have to eat ashes."

"That's a cruel thing to say, Hibari. I know how to cook."

He chuckled as he walked away and called over his shoulder, "Sure you do, princess, sure you do." She was about to yell out that he was a jerk when the cell phone in her shirt pocket rang. Sighing in defeat (just this once) she pulled the thing out of her pocket and checked the number knowing that if it was Gokudera, he'd try to coax her into telling him where she was so that he could come to her.

Which wasn't going to happen since her self proclaimed right hand man was a little too over zealous sometimes. Luckily for her though, the number was Takeshi's. Which meant that he had been able to persuade Gokudera from calling her so that he could check up on her in his place.

Gokudera may not have liked backing down, but if Takeshi's reasoning had been sound enough then the bomber would think beyond his need to serve and do as he was told. Besides, she had a feeling that if he hadn't been able to persuade Gokudera then maybe Reborn had threatened him.

Either way with Takeshi being the calmest tempered of all of her people then maybe this conversation would be short and easy. She flipped the phone open and pressed the green button and was greeted by a loud roar that didn't sound anything like Takeshi, yet strangely did. _"What the hell where you thinking jumping out of that window? You could have broken you're neck!"_

She flinched away a bit as he took a deep breath then said in a much calmer tone, "That was my impression of Gokudera. Pretty good right?" Followed by a soft chuckle that had her staring at her phone and wondering if that had really been an impression or Takeshi just voicing his true thoughts in a really, _really_ loud voice.

Putting the phone back up against her ear she gave a slightly nervous sounding laugh. "Y-Yeah. Good one."

"Great. I'll use it again the next time I'm mad at you." Takeshi said in a cheerful tone before sombering up and saying, "But for now- are you okay? You ran out of the courtyard so fast that we couldn't follow you-"

"Oh...um...I-I'm-"

"Do you know how worried we've been?" Takeshi cut in before she could answer him. "We even looked for you. Gokudera was throwing a fit like I've never seen before, and Reborn is pissed about you just up and disappearing. Though I think that has more to do with the fact that he's parinoid that your going to slack off in your training."

She smiled. That sounded like her hitman home tutor. Nothing pissed the baby off more than someone slacking off when being trained. She was about to say something when all of a sudden Takeshi asked, "Where are you?"

"Wha? You mean right now?"

"Yes."

"If I tell you do you promise not to tell anyone else unless it's my mom?"

Takeshi was quiet for a second then replied, "Alright. I promise."

"I'm at the Namimori shrine with Hibari. He's letting me stay here until...I feel calmer."

"Ah, I see." Takeshi replied before she heard a zipper followed by, "I'm on my way. _Don't. Go. Anywhere_."

"Wha? Hey! Wait! What do you mean, You're on your way?"

"Just what I said, I've been packing a bag so that I can keep you company until you decide to go home. Unless of course you'd rather have Gokudera there with you."

"What? No! You know how he is."

"Which is why I promised him that if I found out where you were, and couldn't coax you home- then I'd go to wherever you are and stay with you."

"A nice thought, but I'd really prefer that you didn't."

"Well tough shit. I'm not leaving you alone with Hibari for any length of time. I'll be there in an hour and a half." And with that the line went dead.


	3. Chapter 3

The second her phone went dead, Tsunade felt a peculiar sense of panic and looked longingly towards the stairs. She supposed that she could throw herself down them, but Hibari would be awfully pissed about having a suicide on shrine grounds.

Not only that but if she failed to break her neck on the way down...

Reborn would break it for her once he found out.

And then there was Gokudera, Hibari, Takeshi and the others... She shuddered at the possible horrors that she would face and looked towards the shrine knowing that she should at least _warn_ Hibari that he was going to have another guest.

Walking in an almost mechanical manner in the direction of the house attached to the shrine, she made her way along the hall to the kitchen until she reached an open door and peeked inside to see Hibari with his back turned to the door, cutting up some meat with practiced ease.

She must have made a small sound without meaning too. Because one minute he had his back to her and the next the knife was embedded in the wood next to her head, making her instinctively flinch back. "Princess?"

"Ah, yeah."

"You shouldn't sneak up on people." Hibari said as he wiped his hands on a...frilly white apron? _What the hell? _Tsunade thought as she stared hard at the apron around the teens waist as he retrieved the knife and then asked, "What do you want?"

"I- Uh- Takeshi-"

Hibari sighed and crossed his arms over his chest and waited patiently for her to answer him. She normally wasn't so awkward. "Did something else happen?" He asked curiously. Tsunade gave him a small _nervous_ looking smile and his shoulders slumped as he hung his head.

Crap. One of her friends was on their way to his home.

"Which one?"

"Takeshi."

He lifted his head to glare down at her and huffed for a second then growled out, "And how did he know where you were?"

"I made him promise-"

"Then stupidly told him where you were. You know that I'm going to torture you endlessly while he's here-" It wasn't a question, merely a statement of fact. Tsunade flushed a little bit and looked like a kicked puppy and he snorted. Some things never changed.

"He'll sleep in your room, and eat half of your food while you're here." He said before turning away from her and going back over to the counter so that he could finish cutting up the meat, then go to work on several other items that were laying out.

Knowing when she'd been dismissed by Hibari and what it would mean to stick around, Tsunade blew her long brown bangs out of her amber eyes and turned and started walking back the way she had come. Takeshi would be there in another few minutes or so since she had wasted close to thirty minutes contemplating her own demise and what failure would mean.

She got back outside and was about to go over to the steps to sit down and wait when it finally occurred to her that since Takeshi would be sharing her room and he was bound to notice a few...physical differences between them, and paled and started to hyperventilate.

_Oh god, oh god, oh god-_ He'd find out about her being a girl! Her mind blanked of everything but the feeling of fear as her knees went weak and she fell down and sat there on the ground panicking about how she could keep Takeshi from finding out her secret.

(*******************************************************************************************************************************************************************)

Takeshi Yamomoto could could count on one hand the sheer number of times he'd felt as pissed as he was now. And while he had wanted to give Tsuna a piece of his mind when he'd had the boy on the phone earlier, he'd had to remind himself that they were playing a mafia game where Tsuna was the boss and thus it wasn't his place to berate him.

Besides he had gotten the distinct impression that Gokudera would punch him in the nuts if he did say anything. And then there was the fact that he figured that Tsuna must have had a very good reason for jumping out the window and running away like that.

Still...

Takeshi had wanted to say something to Tsuna for being so careless. After all, the younger boy was far more delicate than he or Gokudera. He could have easily broken a bone or killed himself when he had jumped out the school window.

But he supposed that that didn't matter now. He knew where Tsuna was and he was going to keep his promise to Gokudera. He walked up the last of the steps to the Namimori shrine and dropped his duffle bag so that he could stretch his hands over his shoulders. Good grief, his shoulders and back ached. He almost felt like an old man.

Finding the thought funny, Takeshi chuckled to himself and was about to go looking for Hibari and Tsuna when he heard Hibari's voice from just around the corner of the shrine several feet away and went to investigate. There he saw a most peculiar sight.

Hibari was standing on an solid wood wrap around porch that went around an old, remodeled Japanese house. His expression dark as he said, "God you're pathetic. Pull yourself together already."

"I-I-" Tsuna stammered out as Hibari sighed then looked in Takeshi's direction and smirked evilly.

"Hello Takeshi Yamomoto..."

Takeshi, deciding that for now it would be best not to question Tsuna about what he'd seen so far, smiled and let himself slip back into his usual easy going mannerisms. "Hey, Hibari. Tsuna. You both look like you're having fun. Can I join?" He asked as he came around the corner and walked over to Tsuna and put a hand on the smaller boys head and ruffled his hair.

Hibari made a tsking sound and crossed his arms over his chest. "We aren't playing a game you baseball freak. Still, I'm glad that your here. Slap this moron a few times and see if you can snap him out of his funk." The prefect said before turning around and walking back inside. Leaving Takeshi with Tsuna and far too many questions.

(******************************************************************************************************************************************************************)

He held his tongue though, even as he managed to snap Tsuna out of whatever was wrong with him long enough to show him where he would be sleeping. And though Tsuna put on his usual mask of good cheer- Takeshi could see right through him. The kid was scared of something, that much was plain for the older teen to see.

And while he would have liked to ask what was wrong, to push some buttons; he doubted Tsuna would have answered him unless he bullied the truth out of him. Something Gokudera might try to kill him for in his misplaced devotion to the boy.

So instead of asking questions, Takeshi did what he did best. He pretended to be ignorant and hoped that Tsuna would slip up. Which was a good plan, he observed as Tsuna ate his dinner across the table from him.

The boy had managed to relax enough to almost seem normal again. Which was good since it meant that Takeshi could watch him more closely and maybe figure things out on his own. Tsuna had just finished his meal and was neatly piling his dishes when Hibari stopped him and handed him a deck of cards and smiled pleasantly at the two of them. "I'll do the dishes. You two go play cards."

"C-Cards?" Tsuna said almost hesitantly as Takeshi looked at the boy for a moment. He seemed almost nervous. _How odd. _The older teen thought to himself. He couldn't imagine what Tsuna had to be nervous about.

Hibari smirked at them and made a humming sound and Takeshi could swear that he thought he saw Tsuna squirm in his seat. "That's right. Cards."

Tsuna did squirm this time as he stammered out, "W-W-What g-g-game?"

Hibari gave the younger boy a wolfish smile that made Takeshi wonder if he had a split personality or something, usually he wasn't so pleasant outside of school. In fact the very fact that he and Tsuna both hadn't been beaten to death and buried in shallow graves somewhere yet was a testament to how off things were.

"Strip poker." Hibari finally answered after a heartbeat or so, his smile morphing into something predatory.

Takeshi scratched at his left cheek and inwardly laughed to himself. _There_ was the Hibari he knew and was terrified would someday murder him for some stupid slight. Tsuna must have been of the same mind since he let out an embarrassed shriek before trying to lunge across the table and grab Hibari whom was already up and walking away with the dishes in hand.

"Wait! Hibari-" Tsuna called out after the prefect in a panicked tone that Takeshi didn't like much. Still, he ignored it for the time being and reached out and grabbed the deck of cards and shuffled them then started to deal while Tsuna was distracted. When the younger boy finally was paying attention again he blinked owlishly as the five cards sitting face down in front of him and practically wailed. "You've already dealt the cards... Aragh! It's like I've been dropped into the seventh circle of hell or something!"

Takeshi stopped messing with his cards for a second and said in a fake pleasant tone. "I'm going to ignore that comment since I'm assuming that you've lumped me in with whatever your thinking. So- pick up your cards and lets play already."


	4. Chapter 4

Three hands later-

Takeshi was down his shirt, socks and was currently shedding his pants when it occurred to Tsunade that, 1) She was in deep shit here. And 2) She was in a room with a semi naked boy.

Now don't get her wrong, under normal circumstances she might have liked her situation. But that was a whole lifetime ago when she had decided to bury so many secrets about herself and had reinvented herself as Tsuna.

But this situation was beyond unbearable for obvious reasons. So far she hadn't lost a hand, but that was only because Takeshi seemed to suck at this particular game. But she knew enough about him to know that once he got the basics down- he'd be kicking her ass with every hand they played, which would leave her with two choices.

Try to run knowing that she wouldn't get far.

Or strip before Takeshi stripped her with his own hands.

She shivered at the thought. Both choices were more than a little _daunting_ when one really thought about it. Especially given Takeshi's personality and how he would react once he learned that she had breasts. And then there was Hibari- That sly bastard was probably planning to hold true to his word to torture her which meant that he was capable of anything at the moment.

Takeshi finished taking his pants off and sat down in his boxers and Tsunade tried not to stare at him. She had to admit, even to herself, that Takeshi was a looker. Whether he was dressed or not. He just had this nice, lean, muscular build that coupled with his height and masculinely beautiful facial features; tended to turn the heads of both males and females everywhere he went.

He picked up the deck of cards and smiled at her in a way that caused her heart to skip a beat then started to shuffle the deck. "Maa, Tsuna you're pretty good at this game-" _Uh-oh. _Tsunade thought as she struggled to keep her mask firmly in place. He was about to suggest another game so that he wouldn't wind up running around without his boxers. She could just feel it. "Maybe a little bit too good. Would you mind if we played another game?"

_Crap-_ "Uh...n-no. I don't mind. Do you have an idea for one?" She asked hesitantly. Takeshi got a thoughtful look on his face for a second when they both heard Hibari's voice from outside of the room.

"Newlyweds."

Takeshi got up and walked over to the door and opened it then peered out at the prefect whom just grinned as Tsunade blanched. "Sorry Hibari, did you say something?" He asked curiously.

"The newlywed game. You do know how to play that right?" Takeshi got another look on his face. He couldn't recall ever playing that game before. Shaking his head no, Hibari sighed and quickly explained how to play the game. "Alright listen. Tsuna is your wife. You're the husband. Both of you have been married less than a week. What you do in here, doesn't leave this room. _Get it?"_

Takeshi had a blank look on his face for all of two seconds before grinning and nodding. "Okay. We'll play that." He said before closing the door and turning to look at Tsunade who quickly got a sinking feeling in her stomach.

_Oh this can't be good. _She thought as she wondered idly if she'd be able to excape Takeshi by locking herself in the bathroom as Hibari said in an overly cheerful tone that was laced with pure evil.

"Fantastic. I'll go get the papers that you need to sign so it'll add a more realistic touch to the game."

She swallowed, knowing that that this whole situation did _not_ bode well for her well being and picked up the deck of cards that he had discarded and held them up and said in a hopeful voice, "Let's play a different game. Does match-up sound good to you?" As Hibari walked away.

Takeshi took a small step away from the door, his expression blank as he watched her.

He was busy wracking his brain for information about newlyweds. And so far all he was coming up with was the stuff that the people in the video's his father had given to him a while back in lieu of 'the talk'. All that naughty stuff that he tried hard not to think about. But it was difficult for him when Tsuna looked at him with those wide innocent eyes, his teeth chewing at his soft pink lips.

He looked so damned cute that Takeshi found himself thinking, _Why not? _He liked the younger boy. He was a pleasant person, sure he freaked a lot but with the mafia game still in play- and with people like Xanxus out for his blood, he certainly had a lot to worry over.

Finally after a heartbeat or two he had made his decision and held his hand out to his friend and said in a low, husky tone, "Come here Tsuna."

She looked at him like he'd lost his mind and started to get up so that she could run when he sighed and before she could react, he was across the room scooping her up in his arms and holding her tightly against his body so that any struggling she did to get away was in vain.

"Takeshi! Hey! Put me down!" She cried as she kicked her legs and pushed against his chest.

"And risk you running from me- no. I don't think so." Takeshi said in an annoyed tone as he walked across the room to the bed and dropped her onto it. Watching her bounce twice before settling. He then sat down on the edge of the bed and kept his eyes on her even as she came up and tried to scramble off of the bed and away from him.

But he caught her around the waist, effectively stopping her, and pulled her into his lap and used his free hand to tip her head back and placed a very light, gentle kiss on her lips as he tightened his arm around her waist a bit and breathed, "Tsuna. My wife." Against her lips, causing her to tremble in his grasp.

She didn't understand how those simple words could affect her so much. But they did.

Almost as much as his kiss affected her. It stole her breath and made her dizzy at the same time.

Her heart thudded in her chest as he gave her another feather light brush of his lips. "You're so cute Tsuna." He said in that deep husky tone as he gripped her hips in his hands and rocked her body against him, causing her eyes to go wide as her face flushed scarlet as she felt a slight bulge under her.

What the fu- Why would he do- _Huh? _So Takeshi had some odd kinks. _Who knew? _She wondered as she shrieked in a shocked tone, "T-Takeshi! W-What are you doing?" And tried to keep herself from squirming since that would only cause more problems.

"My wife, obviously." Takeshi said with a wicked grin as he tangled his fingers in her hair and tipped her head back just enough to give her a more thorough kiss on the lips while she thought, _Well_ _this is new_. Which was quickly followed by the thought, _Oh god I'm screwed._

Usually a normal person wouldn't go to such lengths just for a game, which made her wonder if maybe Takeshi saw this as something more than a mere game. Like a chance to experiment without being judged or something. Either that or he was a _mite_ touched in the head.

She supposed that it could have gone either way by now.

He lifted his mouth from hers and was rewarded by the sight of Tsuna panting for air with a soft flush in his face, his amber eyes glazed over. _Okay, next step. _Takeshi thought as he got up from the bed and laid Tsuna back onto it and before the boy could return to his senses, and trapped him there with either hand on the bed next to his shoulders and leaned down to give him a few more kisses.

Each one more drugging than the last. _Hn...this was nice. _Takeshi thought as he shifted a little bit so that he could free one hand and then used it to tug at the hem of Tsuna's shirt until it was free of his pants.

And pushed it up so that he could run his fingertips over the smaller boys stomach. Swallowing the keening sound Tsuna made in the back of his throat, he hiked the shirt up further and ran his blunt fingernails along Tsuna's ribs causing the boy to squirm and twitch under him.

Pulling back, Takeshi stared down at the smaller teen for a moment then gripped his tie and tugged at it until it came undone then grasped the top button on Tsuna's shirt and ripped it off.

Startling the younger boy so badly that he jumped. "Takeshi!"

"Hn?"

"What the _hell_ are you doing?" Tsuna demanded as he brought his hands up to try and pull his shirt lapels together in an effort to cover himself. Takeshi just chuckled, finding the action both absurd and adorable as his fingers found another button on Tsuna's shirt and ripped it off too. The smaller teen paled for a second then flushed and blinked back tears, his lower lip trembled slightly as Takeshi's fingers found and gripped another button and started to pull-

Tsuna came up off of the bed so suddenly that Takeshi didn't have any time to react as the younger teen reared back a fist and punched him square in the face, then shoved him off of the bed and onto the floor then ran out of the room screaming for Hibari.

Leaving Takeshi laying on the floor bleeding and in pain with an angry growl emmitting from his throat. _Ow, ow, oh crap that hurt-_ He thought as he slowly pushed himself up to go after Tsuna.


	5. Chapter 5

Takeshi stepped out of the bedroom he and Tsuna had been occupying with his poker face on. He'd admit, he had been pushing things with the smaller boy but having Tsuna punch him in the face went beyond normal. In fact, he found the notion of the usually _gentle_ and _subdued_ boy raising a hand to him interesting. Very interesting.

Which begged the question, Why had Tsuna hit him when he should know by now that he was safe with him? He had seemed mortified as Takeshi had started touching him, almost desperate to escape.

This was also interesting to the rain guardian as he saw Tsuna run down the hall towards the kitchen, apparently hoping that Hibari was still there. No doubt he was hoping that the prefect would save him but if Takeshi knew Hibari like he thought he did- The older teen wouldn't bother lifting so much as a finger to try and save the smaller teen from him.

No. He'd just sit back and watch the show like a true sadist.

And there would be a show, Takeshi had already made his mind up about that as he lifted one hand to lightly touch his busted and bleeding lip. He'd give Tsuna exactly what he deserved for hitting him. He'd tie him to the bed and make him squirm and scream and-

"Hibari!" Tsuna cried in an almost frantic tone that snagged his attention like nothing else could. He'd heard that tone before when he and Gokudera were wounded. That almost pleading and pained tone laced with so much worry and fear. As if he were worried that they would disappear right before his eyes.

He trailed along behind Tsuna at a predator's gait, keeping the small brunette well within sight, even if he was just beyond his reach for the moment.

Tsuna cried out for Hibari again and tripped and fell. Hitting the hard wood floor with enough force to make the baseball fanatic cringe in sympathy. His protective instincts towards the boy nearly making him close the remaining space between them so that he could pick him up and see if he was hurt.

But Tsuna pushed himself up and got back to his feet and looked back at him, his gaze calculating.

Takeshi gave Tsuna a calculating look of his own, wondering what he was going to do now that he was almost cornered. Hibari seemed to have disappeared into thin air so Takeshi was assuming that he had left for some reason.

Either that or he was simply ignoring Tsuna's cries.

There was less than twelve feet between them now, and Takeshi's heart sped up a bit in his chest. His palms were starting to sweat and his mouth felt dry as he stared down his young friend.

Tsuna took a small step back and Takeshi chuckled as he licked his lips and closed in further. Tsuna's back hit a door and he got a terrified look on his face as Takeshi closed the remaining distance between them and placed both of his hands on either side of the boy's head and leaned down just enough to growl, "You have a nice left hook, Tsuna."

The boy whimpered and closed his eyes as he grasped the third button down from the top of Tsuna's shirt and slowly ripped it off. Baring Tsuna's chest. Drawing back, Takeshi blinked in puzzlment as he stared at the gauze bandages wrapped tightly around the boy's chest.

"What the-" Takeshi started to say as he reached out with one hand and tried to hook a finger through one of the bandages. But they were so tight that he couldn't get his finger through. His eyes flickered to Tsuna's face for a moment in worry as he wondered if the boy had somehow gotten wounded. He didn't see any blood. But that didn't necessarily mean anything.

He could have bruised or broken ribs.

"Tsuna... Are you hurt?" Takeshi asked, his dark eyes searching the boys face. He certainly looked more than a little bit uncomfortable to him. Tsuna's face was ashen, his eyes wide and frightened, his body shaking as he dug his small fingernails into the wood of the door behind him. He looked like he was about to be sick. Or faint.

Maybe both.

Feeling guilty for possibly causing Tsuna more pain, Takeshi gave the boy an apologetic look then leaned down and kissed the spot over his heart as he wrapped his arms around his waist, his earlier irritation vanishing like it had never been as he picked the smaller boy up and said. "Come on. I'll get the first aid kit and look at your wound for you."

Tsuna pushed against his torso with one arm while kicking his legs. Takeshi looked down at the boy, wondering what was wrong now when he saw that Tsuna was crying. Tears running down his pale face as he practically yelled._ "No! You can't!" _

Growling warningly, Takeshi shook the boy slightly. His irritation returning with full force. _The damned kid is nuts-_ _He has to be._ He thought as he half carried half dragged the boy kicking and screaming back to the bedroom where he tossed him back onto the bed then after locating the tie, tied Tsuna's wrists together above his head.

Once he was certain that Tsuna couldn't escape him by somehow untying the tie, he went and found the first aid kit and returned to the bedroom to find Tsuna so out of his mind that he was actually trying to chew one of his hands off at the wrist, the skin was already raw and bleeding from his teeth. "Tsuna! Stop it!" Takeshi almost shouted, his temper slipping a bit.

He'd never seen anyone act like this before. And as such he didn't know how to react to how Tsuna was acting.

"Let me go!"

"Calm down-"

"Then let me go!"

"I'm just going to check on your wound-"

"Please, please, just let me go!" Tsuna cried, his tone desperate and pleading all at once. Takeshi thinned his lips for a moment and glared at the boy as he slowly shook his head no and pulled out a pair of scissors to cut the bandages away.

Tsuna went ballistic.


	6. Chapter 6

"I'm just going to check on your wound-"

"Please, please, just let me go!" Tsuna cried, his tone desperate and pleading all at once. Takeshi thinned his lips for a moment and glared at the boy as he slowly shook his head no and pulled out a pair of scissors to cut the bandages away.

Tsuna went ballistic.

His smaller body started thrashing and bucking, trying hard to pull his wrists free of their binding. Takeshi heard a slight cracking sound coming from one of his wrists and growled knowing that the boy was about to hurt himself further. Quickly subdued Tsuna by sitting on him. His legs straddling the boy's hips as he used his free hand to push the boy's back into the mattress so that the scissors wouldn't touch his skin.

And quickly and carefully started cutting the bandages away. Tsuna closed his eyes and turned his head to hide his face against one of his arms and made a distressed sound as the first layer gave.

Takeshi must have cut through four layers before he noticed something, well, _odd _about Tsuna's chest. It was growing.

Like literally. With each layer he cut away, Tsuna's chest seemed to swell and become more noticable. His chest developing soft, but firm globes that were big enough to fit Takeshi's hand if he'd just reach out to touch them.

Unfortunately at the moment, he wasn't feeling so bold or brave. No, this was the moment where he realized that he had made a serious mistake and was seeing his young friend in a different light.

His dark eyes flickered to Tsuna's face, which was still partially hidden and he felt the almost insane need to ask, "Tsuna...a-are you a girl?" But then he bit the inside of his cheek and mulled over Tsuna's behavior for the last few hours and by the time he was done, he didn't need to ask. He _knew_.

Placing the scissors aside, he reached up and untied her. Knowing full well that she might punch him again or worse. And that he would deserve every bit of it.

Once he was done doing that he moved away a bit and watched as she curled her body into the fetal position with her back to him. Apparently not caring at the moment that she should stomp his ass into the ground. _That's okay_, he thought. He'd remind her to beat him down later on when she was a bit more composed and less scared.

Getting up off of the bed he walked over to where he'd taken his shirt off, and snagged it up off of the floor then returned to the bed and draped it over her then went to go get his pants. He wanted to find Hibari and find out if the asshole had set him up as a tool to traumatiz Tsuna. And if he found out that that was the case, the prefect was going to be missing some time at his beloved school.

Snagging his pants, he pulled them on and quickly zipped them and then made a beeline for the door.

(*********************************************************************************************************************************************************)

Hibari held up the aged papers he'd just found in triumph. The same papers that Tsunade had filled out after losing a bet with him. He smiled and was trying to think of how he could get Takeshi to sign them so that the young Vongola would always be safe, when another issue occurred to him. If he married Tsunade to Takeshi, even without them totally being aware, they could just get a divorce.

Unless...there was an heir involved.

But how to pull that one off? Tsunade wasn't stupid. In fact part of the reason she dressed and acted as a boy was to avoid such a problem being forced onto her. After all, that baby, Reborn must have told her by now that any female involved with the mafia _had_ to lose their virginity by a certain time otherwise the enemy could use it against them if they were captured.

It was why there were so few mafia women.

Many of them wound up raped, pregnant and broken. While others killed themselves so that they wouldn't have to face their family and friends in shame. And that was the last thing he wanted for Tsunade.

Which was where the rain guardian came in. He may be seem to be a dense young man to everyone who didn't know him, but in actuality he was pretty damned sharp. Not only that but he was very reliable and patient and kind- he would make an excellent match for the princess. He would take care of her and protect her when she couldn't protect herself.

And if he managed to beget an heir for the Vongola with her, well that was just an added bonus.

He was about to get up and go back to the bedroom and check on the two since he'd heard screaming earlier when his study door opened and he turned his head to see a furious looking rain guardian standing in the door. _Uh-oh. _Either Tsunade had suggested a new game to get back at him for suggesting strip poker and the newlywed games or Takeshi had discovered that she was a girl and was pissed about some things.

One of which was being left in the dark and possibly tramatizing her for life.

"Takeshi, good timing. I found that paper that I wanted you to sign for the newlywed game." Takeshi didn't say anything for a moment but the second he did Hibari could have sworn that he heard quiet thunder in the teens voice.

"_You._ You knew, didn't you?" Takeshi growled, obviously displeased. Hibari thought about lying for a moment but decided that it was pointless to do so.

"Yes. I knew."

The bigger teen moved out of the doorway to grab him and grasped his shirt front and practically snarled in his face. "You bastard! Give me one reason why I shouldn't _break_ you're fucking face."

Hibari sighed and reached up to grasp one of Takeshi's wrist as he said, "Would you believe me if I said that it was for her own good? That it was time for her to stop hiding?"

Takeshi gnashed his teeth and made a bear-like sound and quickly thrust the prefect away from him and growled, "You have two minutes to explain before I send you to the hospital."


	7. Chapter 7

_Hibari sighed and reached up to grasp one of Takeshi's wrist as he said, "Would you believe me if I said that it was for her own good? That it was time for her to stop hiding?"_

_Takeshi gnashed his teeth and made a bear-like sound and quickly thrust the prefect away from him and growled, "You have two minutes to explain before I send you to the hospital." _

An hour in a half after entering the study to knock the hell out of Hibari, Takeshi stepped out quietly.

His face was pale, his hands tightly fisted at his sides- shook slightly with barely suppressed rage. What Hibari had told him about Tsuna and her situation had seemed like something out of a movie plot. The details, while sketchy in some places were so horribly clear in others.

So much so that he wasn't sure what pissed him off more, the fact that Hibari was using him to protect Tsuna in his own messed up and round about way. Or the fact that the prefect had almost gotten him to bed an unwilling girl thinking that it was just another game.

God the more he thought about it, the sicker to his stomach he felt.

Tsuna must think him a monster. He hung his head and lifted his hands to rub at his eyes, making sure that the tears that he felt trying to slip past his lashes, never fell as he pushed away from the study door and slowly made his way back to the room he had left Tsuna in.

The door was still open and the room was pitch black, but Takeshi could plainly see Tsuna sitting in the middle of the bed. Seemingly waiting for him to return. Takeshi slipped into the room and quietly closed the door, not really knowing what to expect.

Hibari hadn't shared much information about Tsuna's true personality but the baseball fanatic had gotten the impression that Tsuna had kicked Hibari's ass more than a time or two.

So she wasn't totally defenseless. Nor was she as weak as she appeared.

That was good. Especially since the last thing he wanted was to _break_ his newly acquired bride. He hesitated for a moment just inside of the door and stared hard at the small figure sitting so eerily still across the room. "Tsuna? Do you want a light on?" He asked in a slightly nervous tone, hoping that she'd let him turn on a light so that he could apologize to her for his earlier actions.

"Please don't-" Tsuna's voice was low and raspy. No doubt from where she had screamed and yelled herself almost hoarse. He felt another pang of guilt but simply nodded his head before saying.

"Would you hate me if I said I was sorry and I meant it?"

"I don't hate you Takeshi..." Tsuna said in an almost tired tone as she shifted slightly on the bed. "I'd like to hate you. I'd even like to be angry- but that's pointless."

"O-Oh." Takeshi said, unsure of if that meant that he was forgiven or not.

"But it doesn't mean that I probably won't punch you again at some point-"

Takeshi smiled in the dark and said, "Well, I pretty much expected that to happen since I deserve it..." He saw the dark figures head bob a bit as she shifted again then said suddenly.

"The shower is open if you want to use it."

Takeshi was quiet for a moment, his mind trying to keep up with the sudden change in topic as he said, "Oh no- I don't need to clean up. I took a shower before leaving my place."

"... Okay... I'm going to sleep then."

"Hey wait! Don't you want to talk about this more? Maybe tell me I'm scum or something?" Takeshi said in a nervous tone. He caught the vague sight of Tsuna shaking her head before she laid down.

Leaving him to his own vices. Which as it turned out wasn't a good idea since he didn't manage to sleep a wink all damned night. It was his curiosity, his mind was riddled with the feeling of wanting to know more about Tsuna. Things like, what did she look like when her guard was down and she wasn't trying to look like a guy?

Did she keep her hair spiked? Or did she wear it down? Then the frantic thought of; Oh god, was she cute?

These thoughts kept him up well until morning when the sun started to come up and he found that he could no longer hold any of his thoughts back. He glanced towards Tsuna, who was still sound asleep on the bed across the room from him and his body moved of it's own and he suddenly found himself on his feet, walking towards the bed.

Tsuna's face was partially hidden under the covers. But that didn't deter Takeshi as he leaned over her, noting with some amusement that her hair was sticking up in several places. Reaching out he carefully, and slowly pulled the sheets back from Tsuna's face and blinked in shock and surprise at how feminine she looked.

Well perhaps that wasn't the best way to discribe Tsuna since she had always been a bit feminine to begin with. No the best way to describe her now would be..._beautiful_. Or maybe gorgeous was the best way to describ her.

Jesus, he'd never seen anyone look so drastically different. Everything about Tsuna looked different. The milky colored skin, the soft pink lips, the wild long brown hair.

_And this is who I've married myself too- _He thought incredulously before thinking, _If that's the case our first born would be concieved within the next month._ Honestly, who would be able to look at his wife as she was now and_ not_ think dirty thoughts? He certainly knew that he was having a hard time keeping all of his naughty thoughts about her at bay.

Blushing, he muttered something inaudible under his breath and moved away from the bed before she woke up and he wound up in more trouble than he was already in.


	8. Chapter 8

Reborn had awoken this morning with a vague nagging sense that something was wrong and immediately looked towards his student's bed to see if that nagging sense was right. It was. Tsuna's bed was strangely empty despite the time of morning it was and he'd bet anything that if he were to leave his hammock and touch Tsuna's bedsheets, he'd find them cool to the touch.

Meaning that his idiot student was A) Lying in a ditch somewhere. Wounded or dead. Or B) He simply hadn't come home last night. Which in itself was alarming in it's own way since Tsuna was usually a very predictable person.

Sighing the baby hitman rubbed his face with his hands and made a low growling sound.

_Oh dame-Tsuna is so dead once I find him. _Reborn thought as he imagined the stupid kid walking up without a single care in his head and getting shot at several times for the trouble he's caused. He smirked evilly as he thought about all of the horrible things he could do to Tsuna once he returned home.

He'd teach that stupid, moronic boy the true meaning of pain.

In the mean time he'd have to settle for stirring up the hornets nest. Reaching into his night shirt, he pulled his cell out and his speed dial for Dino's number, knowing that the young man was currently in Japan on business and would do all of his work for him once he was told that Tsuna was missing.

(******************************************************************************************************************************************************************)

Takeshi stepped out of the bathroom and exhaled the breath he'd been holding and quietly closed the door wondering what to do now. Sure he had more or less been manipulated into marrying Tsuna, but there was supposed to be certain lines and protocols to be followed when one was married to a mafia boss.

And there was little doubt in his mind that Tsuna was a _true_ boss from the way Hibari had spoken.

Which made his job all that much harder since he had to play the part of the dutiful son, student, baseball fanatic, and the bosses guardian and loving husband. _God kill me now. _He thought as he made his way back to the bedroom. His mind turning over the fact that things between himself and Tsuna were about to change even more drastically than he had ever anticipated.

And not just because he now knew she was a girl, now. Or the fact that he was married to her and had yet to tell her. Though he was fairly sure that if he didn't ease into telling her that she'd throttle him or worse.

She could sic Hibari on him.

He reached the bedroom just as the door opened and Tsuna stepped out rubbing one eye with one of her hands, her long wild hair had been brushed and tamed at some point last night, and hung over her left shoulder in a thick braid. Stopping dead in his tracks, he watched her shuffle out of the room wearing a white, long sleeved shirt that was unbuttoned and a pair of torn jeans around her slender waist that was also unbuttoned.

Her body was beautiful.

All smooth pale skin that was wonderfully toned for a girl. The curve of her breasts were a mite more difficult to see in the light of day, meaning that she had bound her chest again. Sighing she unbound her mid back length hair, then rolled her shirt sleeves up as Takeshi finally worked up the nerve to clear his throat and let her know that he was standing barely ten feet away from her.

Tsunade heard someone clearing their throat and turned her head just enough to see who it was, knowing that Hibari sometimes had visitors pop in from time to time, and hoping that this wasn't one of those times- She saw Takeshi standing there trying his best not to look uncomfortable with her semi naked state and narrowed her eyes.

"Yes?"

"Uh... I just wanted to point out that you're in a secluded area with _two_ hormonal teenage boys. So it might be best if you dressed and stayed that way." Takeshi said as he looked out over the yard of the shrine so that he wouldn't be tempted to keep looking at her.

"Hibari has seen me in less clothing than this before. He wasn't interested."

Takeshi opened his mouth to say, _'Is he crazy? You're as stunningly beautiful as a diamond and he wasn't interested!' _But closed his mouth and bit the inside of his cheek as she turned around to face him.

"Then you should be worried about me." He said after a heartbeat or so and watched her face to gauge her reaction.

She blinked and looked a little startled then started laughing. Causing Takeshi to wince slightly as she said inbetween wheezes. "You wouldn't do anything. You think everything is a game!"

Feeling a bit insulted and just a bit angry that she felt he couldn't be serious, he reached out and grabbed her without thinking and pulled her flush against his body and used his free hand to grab a handful of her hair and yanked her head back so that they were looking each other in the eye, he gave her a sadistic smile. And leaned his head down and brushed his lips across her own as he growled.

"Not everything is a game to me, Tsuna. And you will listen to me and get dressed properly. Because right now I see something that I like, something that isn't beyond my reach-" He kissed her then. His mouth slanting over hers as his tongue licked along her bottom lip.

She twitched and jerked in his grasp, no doubt trying to escape, but he had a point to make and he refused to let go until he'd made it. He felt her hands push against his chest and let go of her hair to snag one of them, his thumb lazily stroking over the veins running through her wrist. Tsuna tried pulling her wrist free of his grasp, tried to remove herself from his grasp and finally gave up when her lungs started to burn.

Whimpering, she went still and Takeshi pulled back just enough to break the kiss for a moment before giving her a softer, gentler version of the breath stealer he'd just laid on her. This time there was no resistance in her. She seemed almost drained as he finally put her away from him and very gently ran his knuckles along the curve of her cheek and said again.

"You should worry about me, Tsuna. You should worry about me."


	9. Chapter 9

"You should worry about me, Tsuna. You should worry about me." Takeshi said as he walked around her so that he could close himself in the bedroom. He felt as if he'd just run a marathon. His heart was pounding, his palms were sweating and he could still taste Tsuna's sweetness on his lips. And it didn't help him much that his pants felt unusually tight.

He leaned back against the door and licked his lips as he thought of his wife.

He'd have to find a way to semi control himself when he was around her or she would run from him everytime he got within reaching distance. And that would mess with all of Hibari's plans to have him impregnate her. Which would lead to the prefect trying to kick his ass.

And as much fun as he thought a pissed off Hibari was, he wasn't about to tempt fate.

Not when he had someone to protect now.

Closing his eyes for a moment, he did his best to control the shudder that worked it's way down his spine. His face was flushed and his pants tightened even more. _Oh dammit- _Takeshi thought as he cupped his aching length through his jeans and made a frustrated sound. He'd have to do something about this since he doubted he'd survive being in close proximity to Tsuna while sporting a hard on.

She owed him a punch for his behavior last night and he didn't want to give her any ideas.

Licking one of his palms so that it would be nice and slippery, he then slipped it into the constricting fabric of his pants and grasped his dick and tried to think of something to help him cum. But the only thing he could think of was Tsuna and how he wanted things to go between them when he bedded her for the first time.

_He could see everything so clearly, could see his bedroom with Tsuna sitting in the middle of it on his bed dressed in a traditional bridal kimono. Her long hair styled in an intricate knot while some of the longer strands fell down around her shoulders in soft waves and curls. Her pale pink lips tinted with rogue_.

He started moving his hand as his daydream continued.

_Tsuna would look up nervously and smile at him the second he walked through the door. He would smile back at her and quickly pulled his shirt over his head and drop it onto the floor next to his bed and lean down and kiss her- _His lips tingled as his breath came out in short little bursts. His heart was beating so quickly in his chest that he felt as if it were trying to punch through his chest.

He bit his lower lip to stifle a groan as his pleasure mounted.

_He would take his time undressing Tsuna. He would kiss, suck, lick, nip and bite every sensitive part of her body until she was writhing and clutching at his bedsheets. Soft moans and cries escaping her throat as he would lean over her and kiss her thoroughly as he settled himself between her legs, feeling her wetness through his clothing. _

_"Do you want me?"_

_Tsuna would give him that adorable teary eyed look and gasp out, "Y-Yes." __He would smile and skim his lips along her throat, making her arch her body up off of the bed to press against him more fully. _His mouth went dry as his mind blanked, his knees going weak as he came and sank to the floor panting. His jeans and hand stained with his seed.

"God, what a waste." He muttered weakly.

(*********************************************************************************************************************************************************************)

When Dino had found out that Tsuna was missing, he had freaked natrually thinking that the worst had happened. Which was why he had come running (figuratively) speaking of course when he had gotten a call from Reborn.

He thought of the Vongola Decimo as his little brother.

The last thing he wanted was for something to happen to him! Pulling his car up to Tsuna's house, he quickly got out and blinked at the assembly of people standing there waiting for him.

Raborn was standing there with two of the Decimo's guardians. Gokudera the storm guardian, and Ryohei the sun guardian. The three looked at him as he approached them, and Reborn finally smirked and said. "Dino, glad that you could make it. You're men are currently putting together a search grid right?"

Dino nodded at his former home tutor and noted that two of the Decimo's guardians were missing. The rain guardian, Takeshi Yamamoto. And Hibari Kyoya, the cloud guardian. The blonde Cavallone boss nodded his head and came to a stop not far from the sun guardian and crossed his arms over his chest. "Yeah. So would someone like to fill me in?"

Reborn jumped onto one of his shoulders and settled himself comfortably before saying, "Tsuna was upset last night after forfeiting Lambo's match. He ran off somewhere and no one has seen or heard from him since. I suppose it's possible that he's just blowing off steam somewhere, but with Xanxus and his group in town we can't afford to take chances. We need to find him and make sure he's okay."


	10. Chapter 10

**_Ring! Ring! _**

_Why isn't Takeshi answering? _Gokudera wondered as he let his cell ring a few more times before giving up and flicking it closed and looking over at Dino and saying, "Hibari still isn't answering." The blonde man sighed and looked down at his feet for a moment before saying.

"Dammit... Why did this have to happen now of all times?"

"I've been thinking about that-" Gokudera said, gaining his attention again. "What if this is another test? Ya know to see how we might react if the boss isn't around to give orders."

"To see if you crack under pressure, you mean." Dino said. Gokudera nodded his head, his silver hair slipping into his eyes a little bit as he did so. Dino mulled over what Gokudera had just pointed out for a moment then brought his hand up to chew on his well manicured thumb nail almost absently. He would admit, that did see like the most likely thing that could have happened.

But then again if Xanxus's group had caught Tsuna unawares at some point- they may have simply gotten rid of him thinking it was the best thing to do. Cut off the snakes head so to speak.

The only trouble with that scenario was the fact that it wouldn't stop the Vongola. Those whom had been brought into Tsuna's family would remain a part of the orginization and until a new heir was picked to lead them...they would simply live by their own rules. Maybe even go after Xanxus and his group.

So there was little to gain from that aside from total anarchy. But then from what he had heard of Xanxus, he thrived on anarchy.

"Have you tried calling Hibari again?" He asked suddenly. Gokudera nodded.

"I've called them both five times since we started our search for the boss. No one has answered any of those times."

"Well, at least we know that they aren't indisposed," Dino said. A trip to the bathroom doesn't take over an hour unless someone has diarrhea or is ill. "At least I hope not. You won't do well facing Xanxus if several of your guys are rushing off to the bathroom every three minutes or so."

Gokudera blanched and gave Dino a disgusted look before shaking his head, as gross as this conversation was becoming- the man _did_ have a valid point. "Please. Don't say anymore and just help me look for the boss."

(**************************************************************************************************************************************************************)

Takeshi had just walked out of Hibari's kitchen with an apple in one hand, intent on snacking on something before breakfast as paused when his ears picked up a most peculiar sound coming from around the house. Curious to see what was going on, he made his way to where the noise was coming form and paused at the sight before him.

His breath stuck in his throat.

There, sparring together, was Tsuna and Hibari. The two were going at it like crazy. Sweat rolling down their faces as they pulled off impressive martial arts stunts that Takeshi had only seen up until then in movies.

Sitting down on the porch with the apple in his mouth, caught between his teeth- he watched them silently and had to admit to himself once he saw Tsuna pull off this one particular stunt, that his wife scared him a little bit.

Like hands down, nothing barred, he could piss his pants right there- scared him.

Reaching up absently he gripped the apple in his mouth and started eating it as Hibari attacked Tsuna only to be countered by the girl before she flipped herself over his head and elbowed him right in the kidney. Hibari hissed and staggered forward a little bit from the force of the impact then attempted to take Tsuna's head off with a round house kick.

He missed.

Takeshi had just managed to finish his apple when the two decided to end their match. "You got better." Hibari said between pants, his tone almost accusing as he glared at Tsuna.

Tsunade gave him a grim smile but didn't say anything about her improvement. Really what could she say? That she had all the bullies at school coupled with Reborn's training to thank for her improvement. That would be giving them all too much credit.

No her improvement had more to do with survival instinct. Nothing more. Nothing less. She was about to thank Hibari for sparring with her when she noticed Takeshi sitting on the porch watching them with great interest.

No that wasn't exactly right. He wasn't exactly watching Hibari, in fact he had seemed to dismiss the prefect altogether. No- his eyes were on _her_. His expression hungry before he blanked it and gave her his usual smile. Obviously hoping that she hadn't noticed the look on his face so that she wouldn't feel compelled to run from him.

"Wow, I've never seen fighting like that up close. You two were awesome!" He said in an mock excited tone that had her frowning. How odd that the tone he was using now was just like his normal tone.

"How long have you been watching?" She asked aloud without meaning too. Her curiosity getting the best of her as she pushed some of her sweat damp hair back from her face.

"Long enough to see that you can handle yourself as far as hand to hand goes." Takeshi said as Hibari walked up and snorted before saying.

"Think she's good with hand to hand, give her a weapon. She could kick both of our asses six ways from sunday and then some." Takeshi looked at the prefect, his dark brows raised a bit in surprise as he asked tenatively.

"She's really that good?"

"Good would be putting it mildly. Lets just say that what you saw here was merely the tip of the iceburg."

"Whoa..." _How the fuck am I supposed to court a girl that can kick my ass into oblivion? _Takeshi wondered as he caught Hibari staring at him out of the corner of his eye and looked at him just in time to see a diabolical smirk cross the prefect's lips.

_Oh_ he was such a low down dirty bastard- He'd known about Tsuna's abilities from the start! Even before he had married them. _Well it's good to know that she can take care of herself if I'm not around to protect her. And having the element of surprise would help her even more. _But that didn't mean that he wasn't going to murder Hibari in his sleep tonight.


	11. Chapter 11

As Hibari wandered off to make their breakfast, he gave Takeshi a look that practically screamed; Make a move on her or else I'll skin you alive. Just slightly motivating Takeshi to catch up with Tsuna before she could enter the bedroom that they were sharing and ask curiously, "So how did you learn to fight like that?"

Tsuna glanced at him from over her shoulder as she let her hair down from the tight ponytail that had held it back from her face during her sparring match, and ran her fingers through it as she seemed to think about what he had just asked her. "I used to be a delinquent in a gang when I was younger. And we used to get into some pretty bad situations. Somewhat like what we're dealing with now with Xanxus. I lost a few friends. Some through fear others were simply killed-" She paused as she grasped the hem of her shirt and started to pull it up as Takeshi said softly from somewhere right behind her.

"I'm sorry. At school and such you always gave the impression that you were just some happy go lucky idiot-"

"I wanted you and everyone else to think that. It keeps you from prying into things that you shouldn't pry about. That and acting like an idiot is a great source of amusement to me. What better way to hide myself? My abilities? Than to sit somewhere and pretend that I haven't got a thought in my head."

"Thats...sneaky, Tsuna." Takeshi said after a moment or so. Unsure of what else to say about his wife.

Stratigically her logic was sound. There was no better to hide but in plain sight. If there had been any enemies after her before, they would have felt her too awkward and inept to fight them off. They would have fallen into the trap she had set for them.

It was unbelievably sneaky of her when one really thought of it.

She pulled her shirt off and stood with her back to him in a black one strap leather top that fell to just under her breasts, leaving her middle uncovered. "Yeah..." She said as she set the shirt aside and turned to look at him, a cold smile curving her lips. "But if you really want to see something sneaky- Wait until the fight tonight. I'm thinking that either you or Gokudera will wind up fighting. And I'm not taking any chances that either of you will be hurt."

"But if you interfer with the fights, we lose."

"Well then we'll just have to lose. I don't give a damn about those stupid rings anyways. Did it never occur to anyone that while I may not have money or power, I can still make a name for myself as a mafia boss? It means doing things I'm not proud of, but as long as everyone is safe I can do it-" Takeshi took a quick step forward and grabbed her arm and pulled her closer to him as he growled.

"Baka! Do you have any idea what you would be setting yourself up for? Without money or power or friends to back you- you would be killed!"

"But-" Tsuna started to say when Takeshi lost his grip on his temper and framed her face in his hands and gave her a quick, bruising kiss on the lips before releasing her.

"Shut up and let me think-" He said softly before saying, "You're not the only person who can be sneaky." A conniving look crossed his face and for a second Tsunade could do nothing more than blink at him as he dropped his hands away from her face. Unsure of wheather it was the look on his face that stunned her the most- or the kiss he'd just laid on her without permission..._again_.

Whichever one it was; it had her shocked speechless until Hibari came to fetch them for breakfast. Then Takeshi seemed to revert back to his usual self again.

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"Any luck?" Reborn asked as he stared at the two young men doubled over panting from running around trying to find his wayward boss. His tone was deceptively calm as the two shook their heads at him.

"N-No-" Dino wheezed as his blonde hair fell into his eyes.

"N-Nada-" Gokudera huffed before straightening his spine and asking, "Could boss have run away?" There were several gunshots aimed at Gokudera's feet, causing him to scream and move around as fast as he could to avoid being hit as Dino gaped at Reborn in shock. The baby assassin glared at them with a look of disgust on his face before turning away from them.

Tsuna may not know it yet but he wasn't the running type. Reborn just hoped that they could find the kid in time for the fight tonight.

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"So do you have a plan for the next fight?" Takeshi asked as he ate his breakfast. His eyes darting back and forth between Tsuna and Hibari. Hibari looked at Tsuna and cleared his throat as he set what was left of his breakfast aside and muttered something about leaving them to talk but Tsuna stopped him from leaving by snagging his wrist and forcing him to sit down again.

"For starters-" Tsuna said before continuing, "The next fight will come down to 1) the rain guardian or 2) the storm guardian. Which means that whichever one of you is called on- your fights will have to do with the elements that your rings stand for. Water and wind. Takeshi, you've a good head on your shoulders but if you were called on to fight in an environment that you were unfamiliar with- you would lose."

Takeshi looked at her in shock as she continued to speak, "The same goes for Gokudera, though for different reasons. With him; it boils down to his weapon of choice. Fighting in a windy environment could cause a backlash of sorts. Gokudera may end up destroying himself just to win. That isn't the way I want this done. So I'll create escape routes for the both of you should you feel that you can't handle things... Hibari, I'd like for you to be at the fight tonight if you don't mind. I may need you to help me in creating the escape routes."

"Alright-" Hibari said with a nod as Takeshi got an slightly alarmed look on his face and said.

"Hey, wait just a damned minute! You can't interfere with the fights! If you do then we'll lose-" Tsuna gave him an droll look, her eyes speaking volumes.

"The ref's said that we couldn't interfere with the fights directly. They never said that I couldn't make sure that my people were safe." Takeshi opened his mouth to say something but after a moment or so, snapped it closed again and just stared at her as Hibari leaned over and whispered in his ear.

_"Just the tip of the iceburg." _

Takeshi lightly pushed the other teen away and nearly jumped out of his skin as Tsuna held out her cell phone and waited for him to take it. Curious Takeshi took it from her hand and stared at it for a second before Tsuna said. "I want you to call Gokudera, Dino, and Reborn. Don't tell them where we are, just say that you saw me and I'll be at the school for the fight tonight then hang up. Got it?"

"Uh, yeah. I can do that."

"Then do it. We don't have a lot of time to plan."

"Yes ma'am."


	12. Chapter 12

I have no idea if this chapter will make any sense in any way. I wanted Takashi to try and clue Dino in on Tsuna's true self without putting him in shock.

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Takashi stepped outside of the dinning room with the cell phone in hand and wondered for a moment about who he should call first. If he called Reborn, the hitman would demand to know where they were so that he could come to them. Then he'd use Tsuna and himself and possibly Hibari for target practice. Calling Gokudera would be just as bad a mistake for even more obvious reasons.

So that only left Dino, the calmer and more rational minded among them. If he told Dino what Tsuna had told him to say word for word the young man may question Tsuna's orders, but he wouldn't go against them. Not as long as he suspected one of her guardians was with her.

Flipping the cell open he dialed Dino's number and waited for it to ring. What he heard instead nearly had him cracking up. Apparently Dino's ring tone was the Star Wars theme song coupled with the words; complete with Darth Vader voice,**_ "I find your lack of faith disterbing..." _**

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Dino was arguing with Gokudera as he sat in the shade of a sakara tree with one knee drawn up to his chest and an arm resting on his knee as the bomb maker argued that they should go left next time. It would keep one of them from taking an unscheduled dip in the river as he wrung out his shirt and glared daggers at the older man.

Dino was about to tell the younger man to shut up when all of a sudden his phone started ringing. Startled by the sound of the Star Wars theme and Darth Vaders words, he flushed to the roots of his blonde hair and quickly dug his phone out and checked the number. It was Tsuna's.

He closed his eyes for a moment as relief swamped him. _Oh thank god- _He thought as he looked at Gokudera and mouthed, _"Tsuna." _before flipping his phone open and pressed the green button to answer. "Hello, Tsuna?"

_"No, it's Takashi." _

Dino frowned. "Takashi? What are you-"

_"Just shut up and listen. Tsuna has given an order and I need everyone to follow it. The order is, don't try to find me right now. I need the quiet to work on a few stratigies to win. He just wanted me to let you guys know that he was okay, a guardian is with him, and not to worry that you'll see him tonight at the fight. Do you understand?" _

Dino was quiet for a moment as Gokudera leaned in and held his hand out only to have Dino grab his wrist and ignore the look he was currently giving him as he nodded his head. "Yeah, I got it. I'll spread the word."

_"Good. Then I'll talk at you-" _

"Hold it! Before you get off- at least tell me that your taking care of Tsuna properly."

Takashi was silent for a moment before quiet laughter sounded from the other end of the line before Takashi said, _"Man if you knew what I have learned about Tsuna in the past hour alone...you wouldn't feel any need to ask that question. Tsuna has got to be one of the most scary, surprising individuals I have ever had the misfortune to meet. I'm just glad he's on our side otherwise I think we'd be in some real trouble." _

"That doesn't sound like the little brother I've come to know-" Dino said as Gokudera tried to grab his phone out of his hand and wound up in a headlock between Dino's legs for his efforts.

_"Dino, all little children must grow up. You know this right?" _

"Of course I do. It's our nature. We are born and for the first few years depend solely on our parents and siblings to keep us safe. But as we grow the number of people around us also grows. We make friends, each one bringing with them new experiences to the table that also help us to grow as individuals. And by the time we are in our teens many of us attempt to break free of our parental bonds- just enough so that no one has to hold our hand and we can walk on our own." Dino said as he watched Gokudera struggle for a moment before letting his head fall back against the tree trunk.

Was this Takashi's way of saying that he wasn't needed anymore? That Tsuna didn't need him anymore?

As if reading his mind he heard a sigh from the other end of the line a second before Takashi said, _"Tsuna still needs you Dino. In fact I believe that he'll always need you. But your relationship with him has brought more valuable experiences to the table of Tsuna's personal development and growth... Because of that he has grown more than any of us could begin to realize in such a short time. Tsuna is still the same kid that you met and pledged your loyalty too at heart. But he's also been forced to grow up at an abnormal rate. So don't be too surprised if he actually beats the socks off of Xanxus and then some." _

Dino hung his head just enough to let his long bangs fall into his eyes, hiding them from view so that Gokudera couldn't see that he was dangerously close to tears as Takashi said, _"I'm serious Dino. Tsuna will always need you." _

"That's good to know. I've always worried about what would happen once Tsuna managed to grow even a little... I'm sure Gokudera, Reborn and the others have similar worries- though they hide it much better that I do. After all it's hard to hold on to your friends when your in the mafia. You either end up exposing them to danger or burying them."

_"Yeah well, don't worry. Tsuna isn't the type to leave anyone behind or expose anyone to danger." _

Dino chuckled and used one hand to wipe at his eyes while pretending to simply get his hair out of his eyes. "Yeah. Your right. Thanks for the pep talk Takashi. Could you do me a favor and pass on a message before we get off of the phone?"

_"Sure."_

"I'll be at the school tonight to show Tsuna my support."

_"Alright. I'll tell him. Now let Gokudera up for air and call Reborn." _

"Okay. Take care of him Takashi."

Takashi snorted, _"I will. Bye."_


	13. Chapter 13

"So Takeshi called you to tell you to tell you to inform us that he's with Tsuna?" Reborn asked Dino for what had to have been the hundredth time in six seconds. A new record for the baby hitman. Dino mused as he looked from one face to another. While he and Gokudera had been checking one side of town for their boss, Reborn had apparently been busy calling in reinforcments to help in the search.

Not really what Dino would have done after hearing about what had happened with Lambo, but then Reborn was infamous for going overboard with even the smallest of tasks.

"Yeah." Dino said after a heartbeat or so.

"And that Tsuna will be at the fight tonight?" Reborn asked, his expression oddly blank of the sly little smirk that he usually wore. Dino nodded his head, his expression somber as Reborn snapped, "Good. I need to have a few words with him about how he wussed out of the fight involving Lambo and lost us one of the Vongola rings."

Dino blinked as Gokudera came up from his seat on the floor looking pissed and practically shouted, "How dare you! I know that we're facing some strong enemies, but would you really send a sick five year old to die for you! He's a kid!"

Dino sighed as Reborn hissed back, "He's a hitman too, you baka! We could have used him!"

"For what? Cannon fodder? The boss made the right call in protecting him. If nothing else then maybe his age and the fact that he no longer has the ring will protect him further if we lose!"

Reborn made an angry _tsking_ sound and glared at the teen before stating, "Tsuna is too naive. It doesn't matter if Lambo is five or weather he has the ring or not- If we lose, he'll die along with the rest of us. Xanxus will make sure of it."

Ryohei, whom had come to their meeting after getting a frantic phone call from Tsuna's mother had been at the fight the night before and had seen how heavily the choice to give up the Vongola ring or Lambo's life had weighed on Tsuna's heart and mind. And felt that in the end Tsuna's choice had been justified.

War was for men. Not children.

And he respected Tsuna for not hiding behind Lambo or risking him. Which is probably why he finally spoke up and said, "Reborn, that's your name right?" Both Reborn and Gokudera stopped snapping at eachother and looked at him at the same time all eyes in the room focused on him. Reborn didn't answer. He just clenched his jaw and gnashed his teeth as Ryohei said, "I think your the one who's too naive. Tsuna wouldn't have done what he had done to protect Lambo last night if he didn't plan to get the ring back another way."

Reborn narrowed his eyes at the boxer for a moment and sized him up- Wanting badly to pull his gun and shoot someone. But the boxer sounded like he knew something that he didn't, so he stayed his hand. Besides if anything happened he'd need the bullets. And if all else failed he could just shook Gokudera for being annoying.

"You think Tsuna has a plan."

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"You have a plan for tonight's fight, right?" Takeshi asked curiously as he sat on the floor of Hibari's workout room watching Tsunade as she did some pushups a few feet away. She was quiet for a moment, silently counting as sweat dripped from her chin and ran down her neck soaking into her shirt. Finally she let herself drop onto the matted floor and turned her head to look at him.

Her amber eyes thoughtful for a moment before she finally spoke, "Tonight either you or Gokudera will fight. Gokudera is stubborn and hates to lose so he'll end up either A) running himself into the ground. Or B) killing himself just to win. Which isn't really a win at all. You however are stronger than him, physically and mentally. So they'll probably want to test you by giving you a handicap of some kind. Something that they feel would hold you back from the win. So- they might poision you and give you a specific time frame to get the antidote, or use one of your friends."

Takeshi blinked at her, his expression vacant for a moment.

Wow, she had just thrown some scary possiblities at him. "Uh... Wow, okay- So which one do you think they'll do?" Takeshi asked as a lead weight settled in the pit of his stomach and threatened to make him ill.

"We're a small group, so they probably expect us to be more close knit than we are. And on top of that we have several members who are weaker or at the very least appear to be weaker than the rest of us. If I had to make an educated guess I'd say that they'll go after the weakest looking person in the group. That way if they lose, they can just try to off that person instead of you. And if it worked, the guilt would destroy you."

"Who do you think they'll take?" Takeshi asked, dreading the answer as she slowly pushed herself upright and looked him dead in the eye and replied.

"Me."


	14. Chapter 14

"W-What?" Takeshi stammered out, his mind in shock over what she had just said even as part of him screamed that she wasn't lying.

Logically speaking people only knew her as Tsuna- the weakling. The loser that messed everything up. She had created her alter ego well, perhaps a little too well now that he really thought about it. After all if the people closest to her couldn't figure out that she had an alter ego; then of course there was a good chance that the enemy wouldn't either.

Sure they may sense her power on some level, but it would be quickly dismissed as nothing more than potential.

Tsunade stared at him, her eyes unblinking for a moment. As if she were trying to look into his mind and guage his reaction. Well she needn't have bothered, all she had to do was glance down at his slightly shaking hands, tightly fisted against the floor on either side of his lap to know that he was scared. Not just for himself but for her as well.

Finally she looked away and sighed as she lifted a hand to push her long hair back from her face and muttered, "I need to go into town and get some stuff..." His mind finally working again at full speed, Takeshi glanced at her wondering what she was up too as she continued. "Do you wanna come and help me?"

He hesitated for a moment then nodded his head and she gave him a mischivious smile that sent his heart into acrobatics in his chest.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll come-" He said as he stood up and offered her his hand to help her up. Tsuna looked at his hand for a moment before slipping her hand into his and letting him pull her to her feet. "What exactly is it that you need from town?"

"You'll see when we get to the store. It's one that I used to go to when I was a delinquient so it has a lot of cool and useful stuff." She said as they left the room and made their way back down the hall to where they had been staying so that she could grab her wallet and a baseball cap. Takeshi stood in the doorway with one of his shoulders against the frame, his arms and ankles crossed- watching her as his mind replayed their conversation from a few minutes ago before he asked in a tentative tone,

"Do you have a plan? For if you are taken hostage, I mean?"

Tsunade turned her head to look at him for a second and he got the distinct impression that she didn't feel like sharing her plans with him. _Well tough shit- _He thought as he ground his teeth together as she cautiously replied, "For starters, don't let them know I'm a girl. I've heard rumors of what they do to women in the mafia and I'm not chancing it-"

"Well, that's something I suppose." Takashi muttered sarcastically before she finally said,

"Other than that... I think I'll just wing it."

Pushing away from the door Takeshi walked up behind her and grasped her wrists to stop her hands from stuffing her hair up under the cap and growled in irritation, "But winging it is what gets you into trouble-"

"Well, I don't hear any idea's coming from you."

"How about you just sit still somewhere and let me protect you?"

"Your response does not compute-" She deadpanned in a joking manner that he recognized as something she must have picked up from him.

"And your jokes aren't funny." He snapped before saying gently, "I'm serious. Let me protect you." Tsunade blinked at him, the smile that had been curving her lips only moments before disappeared and he saw a faint blush creep up her neck to her cheeks.

She looked so cute to him in that moment that he leaned down a bit and pressed his lips against her forehead, tipping the cap back and causing it to fall from her head and land on the floor between their feet. Pulling back a bit Takeshi stared down at his wife with his usual goofy grin as he released her wrist and said, "How could I dare to let anything happen to you when you give me a purpose in life? Hmm."

"I wasn't trying to insinuate that you would- I'd just feel better with some insurance." He blinked at her then flushed, embarrassed that he had misread her intentions and tried to shrug it off.

"Ah. Insurance is good." _Because he wanted her safe from whatever was going to happen. _Takeshi smiled and laced his fingers together behind his head and started back towards the door when Tsuna asked suddenly,

"Uh, Takeshi- S-Should I come clean? About being a girl I mean?"

Turning back to look at her, he studied her for a moment before asking her warily, "Do you think you should?"

She started to say yes, but stopped herself as she quickly calculated the ramifications of doing so- even if it was just to Reborn and the rest of her group. The risks were still high. Perhaps too high for her to ever come clean about being a girl.

But the thought had been nagging at her for a while now, ever since her mother had started getting her more girly clothing and other things (fingernail polish, lip gloss, eye shadow) exct. "I know that I can't hide my gender forever. In fact that was never my intention, but... Would the others still take me seriously if they knew I was a girl? Or would they- Mmph!" She was cut off by Takeshi's hand covering her mouth.

"Listen to me carefully Tsunade, Reborn and the others would never think less of you for doing what you had to do to survive. Sure they might be a bit...uh, _irked. _But they would understand." He said, trying to reassure her that the others wouldn't just abandon her- not after she had been chosen by the ninth to be the next boss.

Gokudera was too faithful.

Dino was too involved emotionally.

And Reborn was far too protective already.

So no, they would never turn their backs on her or abandon her. Besides he got the feeling that if they tried, Hibari would kill each of them for doing so. "Now-" Takeshi said as he clapped his hands together, startling Tsuna as he continued, "Are we going to go get what you were wanting?"

"Uh...yeah, yeah, okay."

"Okay, I'll wait outside for you then."


End file.
